True but if I go off the road I can get out while the prius is stuck! So locked is always better.
CK5
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Detroit locker all around weather
- Thread starter brans87
- Start date
That is my thought from this winter. Much easier to dig the rig out now, and both times I had to were messing around in my own driveway (on the road it has been fine).
Winter tires make more difference than the Detroit does. Aside from deep offroad snow, my Saturn with snow tires will still run circles around the K5. If you want ultimate traction, get both!
us tow truck guys love people who drive in 4wd and get stuck . . . . means more work for use and bigger pay day . . . 
once stuck in 4wd you are STUCK and have no backup .
once stuck in 4wd you are STUCK and have no backup .
superbuickguy
1/2 ton status
Really?us tow truck guys love people who drive in 4wd and get stuck . . . . means more work for use and bigger pay day . . .
once stuck in 4wd you are STUCK and have no backup .
stuck
not stuck
weird, no?
superbuickguy
1/2 ton status
about the locker front/rear. I drive in 2wd on snow and ice because I have a locked front differential - it's way too interesting driving with the front and rear wanting to track in whatever direction they seem to be important (rarely the same direction) - that said, this isn't my DD, it's my toy so the compromise was towards wheeling not daily driving.
Winter tires make more difference than the Detroit does. Aside from deep offroad snow, my Saturn with snow tires will still run circles around the K5. If you want ultimate traction, get both!
TRUTH I have dedicated snow tires on my burb. When your roads are covered in ice and snow for months at a time. Snow tires make sense.
The counter point is that if you have a auto locker and rare storms and icy roads only a couple weeks you may forget how the locker behaves.
Like I said I started out driving a samurai locked front and rear. I drove it in 4wd on icy roads when needed. But I rarely felt the need for 4wd unless my speed was greatly reduced. 4wd does nearly nothing for stopping and in reality, stopping is usually the problem on ice, not going.
There is no doubt you can really get messed up with a locker on icy roads. But if driven properly it's no biggie
Vombrown
Mountain Man
Living in a place that we drive more in the snow than on clear roads I will share some thoughts. Going out to play in the snow with A built truck and just trying to get to town are completely different things. Snow is fun, ice is a different animal. I have driven a built cucv here and it was all I could do to keep it out of the ditch. An open diff and good winter tires will get you much farther. If you really want the best put an e locker or arb in it.
Every year we have guys just trying to make it up my 2 mile long driveway to my house in built trucks on 44s and ton axles. Every season theye fail and I have to drive down and get them in an essentially stop k truck. Weight and traction are king. That doesn't always equate to lockers and big tires. We drive up in open trucks with snow tires all season. For the most part. So far the king of this mountain is my girlfriends subaru outback. As long ss the snow and ice isn't over a foot deep it will go anywhere. I do mean anywhere.
Every year we have guys just trying to make it up my 2 mile long driveway to my house in built trucks on 44s and ton axles. Every season theye fail and I have to drive down and get them in an essentially stop k truck. Weight and traction are king. That doesn't always equate to lockers and big tires. We drive up in open trucks with snow tires all season. For the most part. So far the king of this mountain is my girlfriends subaru outback. As long ss the snow and ice isn't over a foot deep it will go anywhere. I do mean anywhere.
superbuickguy
1/2 ton status
I love snow wheeling - it is one of my favorite things to do. I've stayed home from snow wheeling when it meant driving on ice for 100 miles in either direction. I do SAR, I have chains for when it's icy and I do not use the '40 for that but rather my e-locker equipped H3 Alpha. Having the right tool for the job takes a situation from dangerous to a heck of a lot of fun. I completely agree with you Vom - experience is everything.
Also mud tires unless in deep snow are pretty much the worst thing EVER on packed snow and ice.
Vombrown
Mountain Man
Studded tires or chains are the only things that work on ice. Tires, lockers, horsepower and suspension are meaningless on a flat country road with 1/2" of fresh Ice. Ha!
@superbuickguy we in the 4x4 world are not the majority of the stupid 4wd now I am stuck I was making the comment about . . . its them cityits and wana be cause I have a 4x4 button or awd option that make me my money .
and I to love snow wheelin .
its them cityits and wana be cause I have a 4x4 button or awd option that make me my money .and I to love snow wheelin .
I'd like to have a winch on my truck,I have gotten it buried a few times bad plowing...like when you go to plow a parking lot that has an entrance & exit off a major highway,and the state DPW plows have plowed in the entrance, to the point a banking 3 feet deep of salted icy snow exists,and the only way for you to get into the parking lot,is to raise the blade up all the way,floor it and HANG ON,and pray your truck gets past the banking..
More than once I got the truck airborne,and landed about 30 feet into the parking lot, and the plow make snow hit the windshield and blots out ALL your vision long enough to make it impossible to tell where you landed..and if you dont keep the truck moving,and get that first pass made and stop--your boned...you'll have to get out and shovel !.
Often there is nothing within a few hundred feet you could hook a winch cable to either,so the winch wouldn't be of much help...but in the cases where there is a suitable anchor,one would be a blessing..
I have only gotten my trucks stuck a few times when plowing--usually with weight in the bed,even with slick summer tread tires they would "doze" thru just about anything..but once you bury a truck weighing over 3 tons loaded with another 1000+ lbs of snow and junk in the bed--not much is going to be able to pull it free very easily,short of a front end loader or some other piece of heavy equipment..
I'm not sure what my '82 GMC has for gearing or if it has a posi,I think it has a gov-lock judging by the way it acts--it doesn't spin one tire easily and it usually can free itself it I get hung up on deep snow or in a rut the tires made on soggy ground,I have had to use low range to "creep" it out a few times when hi range just made the tires spin too fast...
More than once I got the truck airborne,and landed about 30 feet into the parking lot, and the plow make snow hit the windshield and blots out ALL your vision long enough to make it impossible to tell where you landed..and if you dont keep the truck moving,and get that first pass made and stop--your boned...you'll have to get out and shovel !.
Often there is nothing within a few hundred feet you could hook a winch cable to either,so the winch wouldn't be of much help...but in the cases where there is a suitable anchor,one would be a blessing..
I have only gotten my trucks stuck a few times when plowing--usually with weight in the bed,even with slick summer tread tires they would "doze" thru just about anything..but once you bury a truck weighing over 3 tons loaded with another 1000+ lbs of snow and junk in the bed--not much is going to be able to pull it free very easily,short of a front end loader or some other piece of heavy equipment..
I'm not sure what my '82 GMC has for gearing or if it has a posi,I think it has a gov-lock judging by the way it acts--it doesn't spin one tire easily and it usually can free itself it I get hung up on deep snow or in a rut the tires made on soggy ground,I have had to use low range to "creep" it out a few times when hi range just made the tires spin too fast...
superbuickguy
1/2 ton status
@superbuickguy we in the 4x4 world are not the majority of the stupid 4wd now I am stuck I was making the comment about . . .
and I to love snow wheelin .
You painted me with that broad brush, so I figured I'd toss some paint remover out
I could regale you with stories of people who shouldn't have been where they were and I got to rescue.... and I don't do this for a living, I just pretend I do and I have pictures of a Toyota rescue.
don't they look cute in their matching coats?
where we were
I got a dodge caravan out of a seasonal road ditch that was 2 ft deep . . . . but he was off the 3ft tall packed/grommed snow mobile trail also . so he was 5ft down in .
he trusted his gps unit and it got him in trouble.
he trusted his gps unit and it got him in trouble.
superbuickguy
1/2 ton status
minivans - between them and Camrys we have two of the three horsemen of the apocalypse. I was skiing a few years ago at my normal resort - Steven's Pass. The resort doesn't have much parking in the summer but as the winter progresses they push the snow off their dirt and it creates a large parking area - one that is pretty close to the lift. Only caveat is you have to have a 4x4 to park there. I parked out on the snow in my Hummer and some guy in a Toyota, awd mind you, minivan decides he's going to park next to me. He almost made it into a spot before he dropped to his floorboards in the soft snow. He was beyond mad and under his breath he was mocking his wife (who wasn't there) who said to him "you don't need an SUV, look, this minivan is AWD!"
His pain, my chuckle for several years...
His pain, my chuckle for several years...
I halfway agree with this. Every open-axle 4x4 I've ever driven in the snow has went through a turn better than any rwd or fwd vehicle I've driven in the snow. It certainly is true the 4x4 does not help with stopping. But, the type of tires often installed on a 4x4 do help.
4x4 kinda helps me stop...it forces my axles to lock up together instead of their natural, unbalanced state!
4x4 kinda helps me stop...it forces my axles to lock up together instead of their natural, unbalanced state!
Well now you got me thinking about stuff I've never thought about. DOES 4x4 help you slow down? Lets say the front axle hits a slick spot and the rear still has traction... wouldn't the rear axle that's still in motion help keep the front wheels from locking up?
I find it easier to stop on slick surfaces in 4wd,but only if I downshift..using the brakes usually results in instant lock up of the rear wheels ,the rear brake shoes on just about every GM truck I've owned love to get very "grabby" when any water gets in them..
Even in warmer weather,the first stop of the day pulling out of my driveway,you can feel the rust that formed overnight being rubbed off the drums,and the tires will want to skid--after that first stop,the brakes will work normally again,unless you drive through some slush or a deep puddle..I think the OEM shoes had too much mettallic in them and cause them to become grabby when wet..
Even in warmer weather,the first stop of the day pulling out of my driveway,you can feel the rust that formed overnight being rubbed off the drums,and the tires will want to skid--after that first stop,the brakes will work normally again,unless you drive through some slush or a deep puddle..I think the OEM shoes had too much mettallic in them and cause them to become grabby when wet..
Yes, this is what I was talking about (although backwards). On my rig the back locks up quite a bit before the front, I can't hammer the brakes without sliding the rear. In 4WD the wheels lock up together, it eliminates that one failure point. The axles shouldn't be imbalanced like that, but for me it's an easy fix until I decide to redo the rear brakes.
